Overall
- Medford
- 101.4
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 100.9
Diff -0.5 RPP
Medford vs Bakersfield-Delano
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Bakersfield-Delano is 0.5% less expensive than Medford.
0.5% less expensive
Bakersfield-Delano, CA is 0.5% less expensive than Medford, OR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.9 vs 101.4). A $100,000 salary in Medford buys about the same as $99,461 in Bakersfield-Delano; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 101.4 (Medford) vs 100.9 (Bakersfield-Delano)
- $100k in Medford ≈ $99,461 purchasing power in Bakersfield-Delano
- Services drives the gap (+56.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OR:CA 101.4→100.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE OR × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Medford
101.4
Cost Index
Bakersfield-Delano
100.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Medford, OR and Bakersfield-Delano, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Bakersfield-Delano is 56.0 points higher. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Medford to $99,461 in Bakersfield-Delano, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Medford
- 105.3
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 105.2
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Medford
- 102.3
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 158.3
Diff +56.0 RPP
Rents
- Medford
- 97.7
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 90.3
Diff -7.4 RPP
| Category | Medford | Bakersfield-Delano | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.4 | 100.9 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 105.3 | 105.2 | -0.1 |
| Services | 102.3 | 158.3 | +56.0 |
| Rents | 97.7 | 90.3 | -7.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Medford 101.4
Bakersfield-Delano 100.9
Goods
Medford 105.3
Bakersfield-Delano 105.2
Services
Medford 102.3
Bakersfield-Delano 158.3
Rents
Medford 97.7
Bakersfield-Delano 90.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Medford would need to be in Bakersfield-Delano for the same purchasing power:
| In Medford | In Bakersfield-Delano | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,730 | $-270 |
| $75,000 | $74,596 | $-404 |
| $100,000 | $99,461 | $-539 |
| $150,000 | $149,191 | $-809 |
$ in Medford = in Bakersfield-Delano
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.4 → 100.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bakersfield-Delano more expensive than Medford?
Bakersfield-Delano is 0.5% less expensive than Medford. The overall cost index is 100.9 vs 101.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Bakersfield-Delano equals $100K in Medford?
A $100,000 salary in Medford has the same purchasing power as $99,461 in Bakersfield-Delano. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Medford and Bakersfield-Delano?
Rents in Medford are indexed at 97.7 while Bakersfield-Delano is at 90.3 (national average = 100). Medford has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.